Rudi Hiti
Encyclopedia
Rudi Hiti is a retired Slovenia
n ice hockey
player and coach. In Slovenia he played for HK Kranjska Gora, HK Acroni Jesenice
and HDD Olimpija Ljubljana
, winning yugoslav league four times. Later he played in Italy, winning Italian league three times with HC Bolzano, where his #13 jersey was retired. He played at 17 World Championships
for Yugoslavia
, which is a world record, and two Olympic Games
. In 1970 he was close to signing for NHL club Chicago Blackhawks
, but an injury on the first friendly game for Blackhawks prevented him from signing the contract. On May 5, 2009 he was introduced to the IIHF Hall of Fame
as the second Slovene.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player and coach. In Slovenia he played for HK Kranjska Gora, HK Acroni Jesenice
HK Acroni Jesenice
HK Acroni Jesenice is a Slovenian ice hockey team that currently plays in the Austrian Erste Bank Hockey League. They play their home games at Dvorana Podmežakla in Jesenice.- Before World War 2 :...
and HDD Olimpija Ljubljana
HDD Olimpija Ljubljana
HDD Tilia Olimpija Ljubljana is a Slovenian professional ice hockey team that plays in the Erste Bank Hockey League. They play their home games at Dvorana Tivoli in Ljubljana. Olimpija has won 13 Yugoslav Championships and 11 Slovenian championships. They won 10 consecutive times from 1995 to 2004...
, winning yugoslav league four times. Later he played in Italy, winning Italian league three times with HC Bolzano, where his #13 jersey was retired. He played at 17 World Championships
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
for Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national ice hockey team
The Yugoslav national ice hockey team was the national men's ice hockey in the former republic of Yugoslavia. They competed in five Olympic Games competitions. This article discusses the team that represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its predecessors, but not the Federal...
, which is a world record, and two Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. In 1970 he was close to signing for NHL club Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
, but an injury on the first friendly game for Blackhawks prevented him from signing the contract. On May 5, 2009 he was introduced to the IIHF Hall of Fame
IIHF Hall of Fame
The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which was established by the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1997, when 30 individuals were inducted at the world championships in Helsinki...
as the second Slovene.